How to do a box shadow

[Zk433]

Hi,

 

I have tried to search for this but I haven't been able to find the answer so I'm asking here:

 

How do I do a box shadow on a shape that only appears on some of its sides? E.g. on a rectangle, I want the shadow to be only on the right and bottom sides. I have played with the Outer shadow in Effects but I can't seem to figure it out. I need the shadow to be soft, blurry, not very hard.

 

Thank you.

[Guest]

Hi Zk433,

 

If you click on the cog to the right of the "External Shadow" window, you can control different cursors to adjust your shadow.

I hope that helps.

[Guest]

You can also duplicate the rectangle, paste the copy back by shifting it slightly to the right and down to simulate the shadow and add a "Gaussian Blur" effect to the copy.

[Zk433]

Hi,

 

I did that, I even copied your settings, but the shadows appear on all 4 sides.

 

EDIT: I was talking about your first suggestion.

[Zk433]

You can also duplicate the rectangle, paste the copy back by shifting it slightly to the right and down to simulate the shadow and add a "Gaussian Blur" effect to the copy.

 

I thought about that but I thought that there must be an easier way to do it. But maybe this is the way?

[Guest]

I can reproduce this if offset is too weak, maybe that's what happens to you?

[Zk433]

Looks like it. When I increase the offset, it only appears on the right and bottom. Interesting.

 

Thank you for your help!

[DavidDoesAffinity]

It's shadow and as such it is adjusted by the angle. i.e. Changing it to 135 will move the shadow to left and top.

[Guest]

Looks like it. When I increase the offset, it only appears on the right and bottom. Interesting.

 

Thank you for your help!

Thanks for the feedback, this behavior is nevertheless bizarre.

[Guest]

It's shadow and as such it is adjusted by the angle. i.e. Changing it to 135 will move the shadow to left and top.

Hi DavidDoesAffinity,

 

Indeed, it is the principle of a shadow, but in this specific case there seems to be a problem: at 135 ° if the offset is too weak the shadow appears on all four sides. Reduced offset therefore also requires a small radius to achieve the desired effect.

[DavidDoesAffinity]

After some playing I concur that if the offset is too small, the result appears to look like an Outer Glow...so increase the offset and I can go to bed  ;)

[R C-R]

Indeed, it is the principle of a shadow, but in this specific case there seems to be a problem: at 135 ° if the offset is too weak the shadow appears on all four sides. Reduced offset therefore also requires a small radius to achieve the desired effect.

??? Offset controls how far in the shadow effect is offset from the item it is applied to, & the angle controls the direction of that offset. So if the offset is zero, it won't matter what the angle is, the shadow will be exactly centered on the object. Likewise, if the offset is just a pixel or two on a large object, the offset will be barely noticeable.

[Guest]

??? Offset controls how far in the shadow effect is offset from the item it is applied to, & the angle controls the direction of that offset. So if the offset is zero, it won't matter what the angle is, the shadow will be exactly centered on the object. Likewise, if the offset is just a pixel or two on a large object, the offset will be barely noticeable.

Hi R C-R,

 

I agree with the angle and offset, but even with a relatively large offset, by increasing the radius to decrease the sharpness of the edges of the shadow, it appears on the opposite edges.

 

It would be good if in such a case the shadow is only carried on the angle and offset (on only two sides in this case) and therefore does not appear on the opposite sides.

[R C-R]

I agree with the angle and offset, but even with a relatively large offset, by increasing the radius to decrease the sharpness of the edges of the shadow, it appears on the opposite edges.

That is to be expected if the radius is larger than the offset, as it is in your example. It is the same lighting effect you would get in a real world version -- large diffuse light sources cast soft, diffuse shadows (equivalent to a large radius in the effect), so if they are close enough to a lit object the shadow will appear all around it.

 

It would be good if in such a case the shadow is only carried on the angle and offset (on only two sides in this case) and therefore does not appear on the opposite sides.

It would not be good if you are trying to create a more realistic soft shadow effect. If you want a soft shadow not to appear on the other sides, you could cover that part with a shape set to the same fill as whatever is below the object casting the shadow, sort of like this:

but I think that looks strange & artificial, & probably is not what most users would want.

[Guest]

R C-R, thank you for your very clear answer.

Following these posts I try to find a way to blur the edges of the shadow by keeping her really square corners. For now I have found no other solution than to copy the shape, paste it behind, apply an very light gaussian blur. The corners of the shadow are still very slightly roundeds).

I certainly miss something and I hope there is a way to get that result.

[R C-R]

@reglico

 

I am not exactly sure of the effect you are looking for but if you are trying to keep the corners square & edges sharp, why not copy the shape & set its opacity to some value less than 100%? Or apply a gradient to it with two or more partially transparent grey stops if you want a fade effect?

[Guest]

R C-R,

 

I was just looking for a blurred shadow, with no sharp edges.

I just found a solution that can do the trick: I copy the rectangle, I stick it behind by putting it in light gray, I shift it slightly so as to get the width required for the external shadow. I switch to "Pixel Persona" and apply the tool "Blurred brush" on the part of the rectangle representing the shadow.

In the attached screen shot I spent the blurred brush only on the right side of the "shadow". The angle does not really remain sharp, but I have tried with other programs and the corners are always slightly rounded with the external shadow. I think I asked a little too!

Thank you for your time.

[carl123]

@reglico

 

Not sure why you can't get the result you want just by using Outer Shadow

 

Am I missing something else you are trying to do?

 

 

[R C-R]

Am I missing something else you are trying to do?

I am wondering about that too. I cannot visualize any way for the angle to remain sharply defined without having any sharp edges, so I am not sure what effect he wants.

[Guest]

@ Carl123, I was just trying to get the edges of the blurred shadow while keeping the corners as sharp as possible but this seems impossible.

[PixelPest]

Seems I´m missing the point here:

 

Cheers

P.

[R C-R]

Seems I´m missing the point here:

Just guessing, but in any of your examples is the radius value significantly larger than the offset one? That seems to be the cause of what reglico is trying to avoid, which as near as I can tell is to somehow have a very soft blur with a sharp (?) corner in the offset direction plus nothing showing at all in the opposite direction.

 

To me, a blur with a sharply defined corner edge is a contradiction in terms -- a blur can't be sharp or it isn't a blur -- but maybe I still don't understand what effect he is looking for.

[PixelPest]

Yes - just an increasing radius - nothing more.

As I said: I don´t get an image from the description. Maybe he wants a real "Box shadow".  :D

 

Chers

P.

[Guest]

After blurring the shadow, I hoped to keep his corner as sharp as possible, but as R-C-R underlines, there is a contradiction that seems impossible to circumvent.

Thank you to all.

[PixelPest]

I still don´t get it: How can something be blurry and sharp at the same time? I still believe there´s a way at least in Affinity Photo.

 

Cheers

P.